Im Supermarkt kaufe ich Spülmittel, weil zu Hause nur noch ein Rest in der Flasche ist.

At the supermarket I buy dish soap because at home there’s only a little left in the bottle.

Breakdown of Im Supermarkt kaufe ich Spülmittel, weil zu Hause nur noch ein Rest in der Flasche ist.

• sein: to be
• in: in
• das Haus: the house
• ich: I
• kaufen: to buy
• weil: because
• noch: still
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter)
• nur: only
• der Supermarkt: the supermarket
• zu: at
• der: the; (feminine, dative)
• die Flasche: the bottle
• das Spülmittel: the dish soap
• der Rest: the remainder

Questions & Answers about Im Supermarkt kaufe ich Spülmittel, weil zu Hause nur noch ein Rest in der Flasche ist.

Why does the sentence start with Im Supermarkt, and why is it kaufe ich instead of ich kaufe?

German often puts a time/place phrase first for emphasis or context. When something other than the subject comes first, the finite verb still has to be in position 2 (the V2 rule), so the subject moves after it:

• Im Supermarkt (position 1)
• kaufe (position 2)
• ich (then the subject)

So Im Supermarkt kaufe ich … is correct, and Im Supermarkt ich kaufe … would be wrong.

What exactly is im?

im is a contraction of in dem.

• in
  • dem → im Here it uses dative because it indicates location (being/acting in a place), not movement toward it.

Why is it Im Supermarkt (dative) and not something else?

With in, German chooses the case based on meaning:

• in + dative = location (Where?)
• in + accusative = direction/movement (Where to?)

Here you’re already shopping at/in the supermarket (location), so im Supermarkt (dative) is used. If you meant going there, you’d use accusative: Ich gehe in den Supermarkt.

Why is there no article before Spülmittel?

Spülmittel is often treated like a mass/uncountable noun (like soap or detergent in English), so it commonly appears with no article when you mean “some dishwashing liquid” in general:

• Ich kaufe Spülmittel.

If you mean a specific one, you can use an article:

• Ich kaufe das Spülmittel, das wir immer nehmen. Or a quantity:
• Ich kaufe ein Spülmittel (less common; more natural would be eine Flasche Spülmittel).

What gender is Spülmittel?

It’s neuter: das Spülmittel. You can see this when you use an article: das Spülmittel, ein Spülmittel.

Why is there a comma before weil?

In German, a subordinate clause introduced by weil is separated by a comma from the main clause:

• Main clause: Im Supermarkt kaufe ich Spülmittel,
• Subordinate clause: weil … ist.

This comma is basically mandatory in standard writing.

Why does the verb go to the end after weil?

weil introduces a subordinate clause, and in subordinate clauses the finite verb typically goes to the end:

• weil … ist

So you get … weil … in der Flasche ist, not … weil … ist in der Flasche.

What is the function of zu Hause here, and why not nach Hause?

• zu Hause = at home (location)
• nach Hause = to home / homeward (movement)

Here it describes where the dish soap is (location), so zu Hause is correct.

What does nur noch mean, and why is it placed there?

nur noch means only (left) / only remaining. It commonly appears before what it restricts (here: the amount left), and it often sits near the middle of the clause:

• weil zu Hause nur noch ein Rest … ist = because at home there is only a small remainder left

It adds the idea of a dwindling quantity, similar to only … left in English.

Why is it ein Rest and not einen Rest?

Because ein Rest is the subject of the subordinate clause:

• ein Rest … ist = a remainder is …

Subjects are in the nominative case, so it’s ein Rest (nominative), not einen Rest (accusative).

Why is it in der Flasche (dative), and why der?

Again, in uses:

• dative for location (Where?) So: in der Flasche = in the bottle.

Also, Flasche is feminine (die Flasche), and dative feminine is der:

• die Flasche (nominative)
• in der Flasche (dative)

Is this present tense sentence also used to talk about the near future?

Yes. German present tense often covers what English might express with going to / will, especially with context:

• Im Supermarkt kaufe ich Spülmittel … can mean “I buy …” (habit) or “I’m buying / I’ll buy …” (current plan), depending on the situation.